Pallet for the storage and transportation of articles

Abstract

The present invention provides pallets for use in gravity pallet flow racks and pallet push back racks which resist becoming misaligned and jammed in such racks. This accordingly provides better reliability (reduces down time) and reduces the manual labor which is required to clear jammed pallets from such rack systems. The use of these pallets in gravity pallet flow racks and pallet push back racks does not compromise any of the inherent advantages of such systems. In other words, systems which utilize the pallets of this invention offer highly efficient use of warehouse space and require low maintenance. They are also compatible for use in conjunction with machinery designed for automatically placing, positioning, and/or stacking the pallets in an organized manner in the system and retrieving the pallets which are stored in the system.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A pallet push back rack system which includes at least one pallet push back rack having a plurality of pigeonholes, wherein said pigeonholes are designed to hold a plurality of pallets which are comprised of a top plate, wherein said top plate is essentially rectangular in shape and has four corners, at least four vertically mounted wheels which are affixed to the pallet in positions which are in close proximity to the four corners of the top plate, and at least four horizontally mounted guide wheels which are mounted in close proximity to the four corners of the top plate, wherein the pallet is adapted for storage in the gravity pallet push back rack system, wherein the pigeonholes have a pallet insertion/removal end and a back end, wherein the pallet insertion/removal end of the pigeonholes is at a lower level than the back end of the pigeonholes, wherein the pigeonholes include pallet support rails which are adapted for supporting the vertically mounted wheels of the pallets, wherein the pigeonholes are at an angle of incline from front to back which is within the range of about 1 degree to about 8 degrees, wherein the vertically mounted wheels of the pallets are adapted for rolling on the support rails of the pallet push back rack system, and wherein the pallet push back rack system further includes pallet alignment rails which are adapted for coming into contact with the horizontally mounted wheels of the pallets, wherein said pallets are not motorized. 
     
     
       2. The pallet push back rack system as specified in  claim 1  wherein the pigeonholes are at an angle in incline from front to back which is within the range of about 1° to about 4°. 
     
     
       3. The pallet push back rack system as specified in  claim 1  wherein the pigeonholes are at an angle in incline from front to back which is within the range of about 1.5° to about 3°. 
     
     
       4. The pallet push back rack system as specified in  claim 1  wherein the pallet push back rack system is part of an automatic stacking and retrieval system. 
     
     
       5. The pallet push back rack system as specified in  claim 4  wherein the automatic stacking and retrieval system utilizes integrated controls to deliver to the system and retrieve pallets from the system. 
     
     
       6. The pallet push back rack system as specified in  claim 4  wherein the system includes a first rack and a second rack with the first rack being opposite to the second rack and wherein a gantry is between the first rack and the second rack, and wherein said pallets are stored on and retrieved from the first rack and the second rack from a single point of entry located on only one end of the racks. 
     
     
       7. The pallet push back rack system as specified in  claim 6  wherein said system includes loaded pallets and empty pallets and wherein essentially all empty pallets are stored in pigeonholes as a function of the system. 
     
     
       8. The pallet push back rack system as specified in  claim 1  wherein empty pallets are stored in the pigeonholes of the push back rack system. 
     
     
       9. A pallet flow rack system which includes at least one pallet flow rack having a plurality of pigeonholes and a plurality of pallets which are comprised of a top plate, wherein said top plate is essentially rectangular in shape and has four corners, at least four vertically mounted wheels which are affixed to the pallet in positions which are in close proximity to the four corners of the top plate, and at least four horizontally mounted guide wheels which are mounted in close proximity to the four corners of the top plate, wherein the pallet is adapted for storage in the pallet flow rack system, wherein the pigeonholes have a pallet insertion end and a pallet removal end, wherein the pallet insertion end of the pigeonholes is at a lower level than the pallet removal end of the pigeonholes, wherein the pigeonholes include pallet support rails which are adapted for supporting the vertically mounted wheels of the pallets, wherein the pigeonholes are at an angle in incline from the pallet insertion end to the pallet removal end which is within the range of about 1° to about 8°, wherein the vertically mounted wheels of the pallets are adapted for rolling on the support rails of the pallet flow rack system, and wherein the pallet flow rack system further includes pallet alignment rails which are adapted for coming into contact with the horizontally mounted wheels of the pallets, wherein said pallets are not motorized. 
     
     
       10. The pallet flow rack system as specified in  claim 9  wherein the pigeonholes are at an angle in incline from the pallet insertion end to the pallet removal end which is within the range of about 1° to about 4°. 
     
     
       11. The pallet flow rack system as specified in  claim 9  wherein the pigeonholes are at an angle in incline from the pallet insertion end to the pallet removal end which is within the range of about 1.5° to about 3°. 
     
     
       12. The pallet flow rack system as specified in  claim 9  wherein the pallet flow rack system is part of an automatic stacking and retrieval system. 
     
     
       13. The pallet flow rack system as specified in  claim 12  wherein the automatic stacking and retrieval system utilizes integrated controls to deliver to the system and retrieve pallets from the system. 
     
     
       14. The pallet push back rack system as specified in  claim 9  wherein empty pallets are stored in the pigeonholes of the pallet flow rack system.